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YOGA AND ITS PRACTICE
Bhakti yoga is the path of loving devotion to God. It is expressed by means of ritual worship, prayer and japam. It is the cultivation of a direct, intense personal relationship between worshiper and worshiped. In the practice of bhakti yoga, some special aspect of God, or some divine incarnation, is chosen, so that the devotee's love may become more easily concentrated. For those who are naturally drawn to this approach, it is probably the simplest of all. And there is no doubt that the great majority of believers, in all the world's major religions, are fundamentally bhakti yogis.
Karma yoga is the path of selfless, God-dedicated action. By dedicating the fruits of one's work to God, and by working always with right means toward right ends (to the best of one's knowledge and ability at any particular moment), one may gradually achieve wisdom and non-attachment. Action is transcended through action. The bonds of attachment fall away. The wheel of karma ceases to revolve. Peace comes to the spirit. And Brahman is known. Karma yoga is the path best suited to vigorous temperaments which feel the call to duty and service in the world of human affairs. It leads such people through the dangers of overeagerness and undue anxiety and shows them how to find "the inaction that is within action," the calm in the midst of the turmoil. Sri Krishna's advice to Arjuna in the Gita is largely concerned with the practice of karma yoga.
Jnana yoga is the path of intellectual discrimination, the way of finding Brahman through analysis of the real nature of phenomena. The jnana yogi rejects all that is transient and apparent and superficial, saying "not this, not this," and so comes at length to Brahman by the process of elimination. This is a difficult path, calling for tremendous powers of will and clarity of mind. It is not for ordinary people. But it has attracted and made saints of many remarkable men and women who would otherwise not have embraced religion in any form.
